Backpack Dredge

[Bob_T2]

A friend gave me a small backpack type dredge. It came with a dandy little Couple Jet nozzle made by Gold Divers, Inc. It's missing the pump and engine and I'm trying to find the best pump for it. So far no one has been able to identify the dredge. I don't think Gold Divers ever made a backpack dredge but I could be wrong. I checked with Packrat 2 and they don't recognize this dredge. It has a completely flat bottom with no pontoons. Overall dimensions are about 2 feet by 3 feet. I'd sure like to find a picture of it completely set up to see how the pump and engine were mounted on it. Thanks for any info or comments.

Bob

 

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[Bejay]

I have owned a number of back pack dredges in my early years of prospecting. I would pack the unit on my back and carry fuel and tools etc miles up a remote creek destination. Seemed to be relatively sensible when I was young. As time went on, I realized I already owned the perfect suction unit:....my 2 inch suction sand shrimp gun. I needed very little effort to carry it with some tools up into the back country.

Many people have witnessed me using it and I can verify it does the job that my back pack dredges did. I have some northern BC Canadian mining friends who have now used them in the remote bush to hit remote gold bearing streams in northern BC. I always carry the suction gun, pan, crevice tool. and low sided meat lug with me....as one never knows when or where the need to access remote stream locations might be calling me.

I no longer own any back pack dredge units....as age has taught me to lighten my load and achieve the same success.

Bejay

 

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[Reed Lukens]

I wouldn't consider the WX10, we've been using the WX15 for years and it runs for a few hours when set at half throttle.

 

[Bob_T2]

Vance, thanks for your comments, they are making me think! The suction nozzle is 1.5" The little sluice only measures about 6-1/4" wide, this is a small dredge. Maybe even a 1.5" nozzle is too much for it, never thought of that. If necessary I can probably throttlr down whatever pump I get. Yes, I've looked at the small high pressure pumps from Keene and ProLine. Part of what is slowing me down there is a post by Hoser John somewhere else that he'd prefer a trash pump and a Couple Jet over a higher pressure dredge pump and a suction or jet nozzle. John, if you read this my apologies if I misunderstood what you wrote.

So is the suction nozzle 1.5" or 2"? You said the original pump was a 1.5". The wx 15 is also 1.5". What is the width of the sluice? If it's 10" I wouldn't go smaller than the wx15. I know it weighs a bit more but I wouldn't want a wx15 on my 2" Keene dredge even with the couple jet. My wx15 is minimal for my 10" Keene a52 highbanker conversion. I would rather eat a couple pounds. Better yet and lighter than the wx15 get the Keene high pressure version (p90?) on the same Honda engine. Higher pressure and volume and use your throttle to control it.

 

[Vance in AK]

John knows those couple jets better than any if us.

 

[Bob_T2]

Bejay, thanks for your input. Maybe I should connect my shrimp gun discharge to the dredge nozzle. Seriously, I think we sometimes get blinded by the attraction of engines and motors. I own this little dredge and I'm determined to try it out but I might eventually end up just packing a shrimp gun.

I have owned a number of back pack dredges in my early years of prospecting. I would pack the unit on my back and carry fuel and tools etc miles up a remote creek destination. Seemed to be relatively sensible when I was young. As time went on, I realized I already owned the perfect suction unit:....my 2 inch suction sand shrimp gun. I needed very little effort to carry it with some tools up into the back country.

Many people have witnessed me using it and I can verify it does the job that my back pack dredges did. I have some northern BC Canadian mining friends who have now used them in the remote bush to hit remote gold bearing streams in northern BC. I always carry the suction gun, pan, crevice tool. and low sided meat lug with me....as one never knows when or where the need to access remote stream locations might be calling me.

I no longer own any back pack dredge units....as age has taught me to lighten my load and achieve the same success.

Bejay

 

[Bejay]

In todays world sound matters. I believe you may very well proceed down the path that I went. The backpack is handy if you are close to where you can park a rig/quad, and will be a good means of working small gravels and crevices. Enjoy your adventure.

Bejay

 

[Bob_T2]

Thanks Bejay, definitely enjoying the adventure and adventure it is, no other description fits. I agree about sound. I have a backpack lever operated drywasher. It is almost soothing to operate and processes close to the same amount of material as one of those obnoxious leaf blower powered machines. Probably is more efficient at gold recovery.

 

[Bob_T2]

I'm used to larger 4 stroke pump engines that produce their rated HP at 3600 rpm. Think it's interesting that both the little 4 stroke WX10's and WX15's run at 7,000 rpm. Almost seems like 2 stroke pump rpm

 

[Vance in AK]

They sound a little like it too :-)

 

[couplejet]

I use a 3inch gold diver couplejet with a cheap 2 inch low pressure pump, It is overkill, you can tune the couplejet to whatever pump you want, I can run mine at about 1/3 throttle and move easily 8 yards an hour. if you ever want to part with it let me know :-)